Dragon Spirit Review

Three heads are better than one.

The review of this product is based on a re-released version of the game. Because of this change of medium and the passage of time, it is possible that there are slight factual differences between the original retail product and the version reviewed. The following review should be used as a reference for how well the game stood up over time rather than an evaluation of how it would have scored based on its original release date.

Godzilla got it right. And so did ancient Greek mythology, and the first Legend of Zelda game, and even the Pokémon series -- all of them got right that a menacing creature, no matter how intimidating it may already be, is only made even more frightening by adding some extra heads. That's what Dragon Spirit's all about. Just like the mythological Hydra, or the three-faced Pocket Monster Dodrio, or Godzilla's triple-headed nemesis King Ghidorah, Dragon Spirit gives you the chance to take on the role of a beast blessed with up to three separate brains. Keeping them all working together toward the same goal? Now that's the real trick.

This game's a vertically scrolling shooter from Namco that started out in the arcades before being ported to the TurboGrafx, the NES, and several other systems. This Turbo edition is a better choice of those mentioned, because the NES take on the formula plays about the same but isn't nearly as pretty (or as pretty as an early 16-bit fire-breathing dragon can get).

In essence, this is a Xevious-style flyer set across a medieval landscape with a Dragon looking to bust some eggs. The eggs are on the ground, you'll see, and Xevious-style means that you'll interact with that terrain below while flying in the sky above. Just like Xevious, Dragon Spirit plays on two planes. Forward-firing fire blasts keep airborne attackers at bay, while a secondary fire "bomb" projects forth from your dragon's maw like an explosive blue loogie that splashes to destroy earthen targets, like eggs. The eggs don't fight back; they just sit there waiting to be cracked to release your head-splitting power-ups.

It's tricky to duck, dodge and weave through enemy attacks when you've got three times the amount of foreheads, but that's all part of the challenge of Dragon Spirit. Collecting the head-splitter orbs from shattered egg capsules upgrades your dragon from having one head to two, and then two to three -- but the comfort you find from gaining three times the firepower and intimidation factor is balanced by the added difficulty of then controlling a larger flying target.

You can find and collect other upgrades to boost the size and power of each fire blast coming out of your monster's mouth, too, but none of the power-ups you find are safe from being powered down; getting hit by an enemy or any projectile will knock away any excess noggins you may have amassed, and three hits sends you spiraling out of the sky altogether.

The Verdict

Dragon Spirit does distinguish itself with its theme and setting, as it's refreshing to play a shooter game not based on spaceships and alien invasions. The idea of a dragon having its head split from one to two to three might not be enough to make this experience truly unique, though, as its appeal will mostly be found with fans of Xevious, since this game also came from Namco, used the same two-planes-at-once approach, and could be considered a pseudo-sequel in that way.